The men NOT in the shack
by JAYTOKMAR
Summary: New evidence comes to light on an old case for Sweets, and something is bothering Booth, will Sweets get to the bottom of both mysteries?
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Bones.**

Chapter one.

Booth sat in his office, he lent his elbows on the desk while propping his head up on both his thumbs, fingers interlocked in front of them, the perturbed look on his face always causing his left eye to half close into a squint and his brow to furrow, the look he now wore was well known to his fellow agents that worked in the large room just outside his office and seeing him wear it through the window they left him alone in his thoughts.

He pulled his hands away from his face, closed his eyes lent back and exhaled loudly through his nose, when he opened his eyes again he saw the familiar face of Dr. Sweets through the glass door, again he was wearing that awful half smile half smirk on his face, Booth became aggravated by Sweets, as he preferred to call him, every time he wore that expression because it seemed like a dog's begging face just wanting to be liked and approved of by his colleagues and friends.

He knew Sweets was great at his profession and well respected for his ideas and insights of the people Booth investigated, but he also knew that Sweets could never do what he does, Sweets was an encyclopedia, a search engine, a Dummies Guide To... of human behavior, a tool to be used like Bones and the rest of the squints at the Jeffersonian, they were his friends and extremely intelligent and the best at what they do, but in the end they were only hard data, just knowledge, and that alone couldn't catch criminals, cops did, determination, instinct and a little intimidation were his tools and they have solved crimes to more effect than any squint had.

As Sweets approached the door to Booths office, he too could see the hard expression on Booth's face but he wasn't deterred, he had to talk him about a case but that wasn't the only reason why he wanted to go in there, he sees the Get Lost! expression, and the body language of his colleague is even less inviting, but that's more of a reason to enter now, to try to find out the cause of Booth's foul mood.

He reaches for the door handle and without even making a gesture of knocking and he enters without invitation, as he enters he makes a point of turning and shutting the door behind him, knowing full well that it would be next to impossible to get Booth to share, if he left it open, knowing Booths fondness for the persona he projects to the other agents of a no nonsense, non feeling alpha male, talking within earshot of them about his worries or his feeling was a definitive...

"Not going happen Sweets!" Booth's tone was as always either curt or play full and this time it was definitely the former.

"I'm sorry?" was Sweet's very unconvincing attempt at looking innocent, but giving his guilt away by smiling inanely and pushing his hands deep into his trouser pockets.

"Its not over a case, and its not about Bones, therefore its none of your business, so don't ask."

Booth looked into Sweet's eyes as he spoke, but then turned his eyes to a small foam football on his desk and picked it up, squeezing it hard and passing it from hand to hand told Sweets not to attempt to find out what was bothering him, and just turn to the original reason for his visit .

"Okay," Sweets held up his hands in apology. "Um, do you remember the Natalie Brigman kidnapping case from a few years ago?

Booth shook his head while trying to remember the details of the case, he never worked on it, but it was well publicised.

"Not really, she was taken from a tennis club in Tacoma and missing for over three weeks, then suddenly turned up at home, all i know is what i read."

Booth shrugged, and gave Sweets a questioning look.

"Well i was asked to have a talk with her about her ordeal, apparently while she was being held captive they forced her onto drugs and that combined with the stressful circumstances she was under, made it nearly impossible for anyone to get any details of where she was or who was responsible".

Sweets as always delivered the information in cold hard statements, with a coldness that Booth didn't like from him or from Bones, everything said in that sentence would fill most people with empathy, others with tears, but not Sweets just facts and figures like he was reading a shopping list.

"Well i know it went unsolved but they had to have had some leads?"

As Sweets expected Booth wanted to hear the details as soon as possible, his need to hear everything was as always in hope that he could see something that would help in some way, to see something that someone else missed, so he could give resolution to those left behind, and in pain.

"Well we know she was taken from a tennis club car park near her home in Tacoma, she can remember that when she was first taken, she was put in the back of a van, and was in there for hours before they finally stopped, she knows there were three of them, and they took her to a small shack in a large wooded area, and thats the problem, Tacoma is only an hour or so from Wenatchee National Forest, an area covering over four million acres of woodland."

Sweets held his hands up for emphasis that was not needed, Booth stood, still clutching the foam football in his hands while staring into nothing, while taking all the details in, assessing what else he needed to add to the picture forming in his mind. He lifts his right hand still holding the ball and points to Sweets with his index finger.

"How did she get away." He was still looking into nothing as he asked.

Sweets returned his hands to his pockets and continued with an alarming lack of details needed for Booth to get everything he needed.

"She drove all the way to her home in a van that is thought to be the one used in the kidnapping, it was later found out to be stolen a month prior to the attack, but because of the amount of drugs in her system coupled with the obvious shock she must have been in, she cant remember the route she took.

Booth slowly returned to his chair and again raised his finger giving it a slight wag as he wanted the story in more detail.

"No, how did she get away in the first place, how did she get to the van and why didn't they stop her?"

"Well even though her family is quite wealthy, for the entire three weeks she was gone no ransom demand was made," Sweets head ducked to the floor indicating that the next detail would not be easy to hear. "and it was evident that she had been raped and beaten repeatedly , the theory was that they used her for that purpose and left her for dead."

"But that's not what you think." Booth was now in complete detective mode wanting everything that Sweets knew, and what he suspected, Booth knows that any opinion or theory that Sweets had was worth hearing.

"When she was first interviewed by the F.B.I. and other annalists she was reluctant to relive the events, but at the insistence of her father I've been trying to push her to see if she can remember anything else."

Sweets's voice had a distinct crackle when mentioning the girls father, and Booth knew Sweets too well to let it pass.

"What is her father insisting?" Booth's vague question told Sweets that he wanted to know his involvement with Sweets and the case and everything in between.

"He's very rich and involved in politics so he has a little weight to throw around, he came to me through a friend he has in the F.B.I.'s higher ups, in an attempt to find who's responsible, and as far as i can tell, that's all it is. He may push Natalie a little harder than she can handle sometimes, but that's what I'd expect of any parent, he just wants someone he can blame and point his rage at."

"And did you find out anything when you talked to the girl?" Booth now just wanted to get to the meat of the case and would leave the little details until later.

"She's still very fragile, she still wont leave the grounds of the house so I've had to travel to Washington State to talk to her,"

Sweets saw the look in Booths eyes, he knew he didn't like seeing his resentment at having to fly to the girls home on the other side of the country.

" Most days she wont leave her room and nights are even worse, she has had nightmares every time she goes to sleep since it happened, it was through those nightmares that i was hoping to find some clues to her abduction, and i did,"

The look of triumph on his face wasn't at all hidden, but Booth new that that was only due to glee at finding some way to catch the people responsible.

"When she started telling me about her nightmares i realized that they were in fact repressed memories locked in her subconscious trying to come to the surface, in all the versions of the dream she is in the shack unable to move and she can feel the presence of the men near her but she could never see their faces, they were always hidden in the shadows and as they got closer the fear got too much for her and she woke up every time before she could see any detail that might help."

As he continued Sweets got more and more animated, Booth just listened and urged him to continue with a quick nod and a flash of his eyes.

"So after a lot of sessions and gaining a little trust i asked her to try a type of hypnosis which would allow her to re-enter her dream and hopefully with me there, less chance of fear taking over and ending the dream prematurely.

When she was under the dream followed a similar path, unable to move, sensing the cause of that fear nearby, she became more and more agitated as she felt them getting closer and closer, but with a little reassurance she managed to carry on, as they were just about to touch her, her head tilted up to the right.  
I asked her what she saw, she said she could see a blinding light and the figure of a fourth man, i asked if she could see anything noticeable about him but all she could see was the light surrounding him, i asked her about the other people in the room to see if their features were visible in the light but she could only concentrate on the figure in the light, she said he went quickly towards the other men in the room but she couldn't see what was happening.

I asked her what she could hear, she said it sounded like fighting, they were screaming at each other then the sounds of fists on flesh, she heard a loud crack and then some banging over and over again, then it fell silent, she moved her head from side to side then she screamed.  
A face was right in hers, looking directly at her, i asked her to describe him, she said he had short brown hair, his jaw was clenched shut, his face smeared with blood, his eyes were dark but filled with fear and sadness, and then he spoke to her _"I'm going to get you out of here."_ suddenly her hands were free and she ran towards the light, she found herself outside and not far from the van, as she ran she heard two loud bangs from inside the shack, she quickly jumped inside it, the keys were in the ignition she started it and drove off."

Booth looked at Sweets with a sceptical expression on his face, the words dreams and hypnosis taking the validity of her accounts into the realms of wishful thinking after years of paranoia and fear locked in her room.

"I'm sorry Sweets i don't want to dismiss your methods, but hypnosis doesn't fill me with confidence, and shiny white knights with deep soul full eyes sounds more like an escape than anything else."

Sweets nodded his head in agreement and gestured foreword with his hands

"I know, i know all to far fetched for me too, but in the next session i tried again, but this time i had Natalie concentrate on the route she took from the shack, to her home. After a long process of asking about the sights and sounds she saw along the way, i was hoping that if i took the details of the session to someone who knew the area we could retrace the route she took, and her family introduced me to a Wildlife Marshall, who was an old friend of the family and asked him if we could try and retrace the journey back into the forest, after a few mistakes and endless retracing our steps we found a withered old shack in the middle of nowhere, just like the one Natalie described."

"You found it? You and this Wildlife Marshall drove all over Washington State looking for a tiny shack? And found it?"

Sweets tilted his head up and sighed.

"It was a dead case no one from the F.B.I. was going to search through millions of acres of land on my say so, and Ted, the Wildlife Marshall was a friend of the families, so we took it upon ourselves, and yes i think we did find it, when Ted went in, he found two bodies inside, both of which are heavily decomposed." Sweets tilted his head to the side and raised his eyebrows in response to the look Booth now gave him.

"Ah, i see, so you weren't bringing the case to me, but rather, seeing as those bodies were found in a national park and the F.B.I. has jurisdiction, and i, as a member of the F.B.I. could take the case and bring with me the foremost authority on _dead things_, namely Bones. Is that about the size of it there Sweets?"

"That, and the fact that after telling you the story you could, and would make Dr. Brennan go, even if she didn't want too."

He made a small apologetic smile to Booth, saying sorry for using his good qualities against him, he knew if he told the whole story first, then Booth would have to find the answer, that's why he brought it to him first not to Dr. Brennan.

"Alright I'm in," he announced without much of a pause to think about it, he grabbed his coat off the back of the chair and made for the door of his office when he turned, faced Sweets and pointed at him.

"You were wrong by the way, if you had asked, this F.B.I. agent," Booth used his thumb to point to himself. "he would've looked all over creation on your say so to find who did this."

With that they both exited, only for the door to reopen and have a foam football launched across the room and land in a bowl on the back shelf of Seeley's bookcase.

**Next chapter will have Bones in it.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two.

Booth and Sweets entered the lab at the Jeffersonian in the throws of a back and forth that looked like Sweets was stalking prey, closely following Booth and intermittently probing his defenses, to see if he could find an opening to attack and gain insight into what was playing on the mind of the usually forthright F.B.I. agent.

Booth was not taking his role as the person on the back foot very well, his walk, usually an eager stride was replaced with a slow determined trudge towards the identity card scanner, the ever probing Sweets casually strolling behind him, again his hands rummaging around in his pockets and a wry smile forming on his face, remembering that although sometimes intimidating, the way to get through to Booth wasn't gentle prodding or offering an understanding ear, but to push him into a corner and hope that amidst all the threats thrown out in defense, a glimpse of the actual problem might be visible to his very well trained eyes.

"Every thing's fine Sweets, my grandfather is fine, Parker's fine, Jared's fine and I'm fine, nothings wrong, all is good in the Booth family, okay? Just back off." Booth threw his hand up in a swatting motion, as if to indicate his intention to turn the conflict into a physical confrontation if Sweets continued to invade his privacy.

"Fine?" Sweet's reply was laced heavily with disbelief and a hint of sarcasm, another button pushed. Sweets paused, he could see that his approach was working, Booth was on edge and ready to snap, he just had to make sure that he didn't say something that would end their friendship. "But you didn't ask one question about Natalie on the drive over here, i just thought that there must be something pretty distracting playing on your mind to make you forget about the case."

That did it, although annoying, until now most of Sweet's questions had been easily ignored or deflected, but to say that Booth wasn't going to give the case, Natalie!, his complete attention and focus couldn't possibly be ignored, he quickly turned on his heels and marched menacingly towards Sweets, now in front of him, his head slightly dipped to stare the shorter man directly in the eye.

"My family are none of your concern Sweets," Booth raised his index finger and began lightly poking Sweets in his chest. "and if you ever imply that one of them could distract me from this case again, then were done for good, okay?, no more little talks, no more consulting on cases, not even a birthday card, you got that Doc?"

Sweets dipped his head and raised his hands up in surrender, he slowly backed away and raised only his eyes to meet Booths intense gaze.

"I'm sorry, i wasn't accusing you of anything, just saying I'm here to help if you need it." As he turned to walk away Sweets couldn't stop the look of success from spreading across his face, the reaction from Booth didn't give him all the answers, but he knew where the root of the problem began, as he exited through the automated doors he turned, "I'm just going to see Angela for a moment, i think it best that you talk to Dr. Brennan alone about the trip to Tacoma."

Booth stood stock still as he watched Sweets leave, not relinquishing his stony gaze or his menacing posture until the young Doctor left his sight. When Sweets was out of the room a grimace formed on Booth's face, as he turned and walked to the small set of steps that led to examining tables, he balled his right hand into a fist and squeezed hard to not only exercise his frustration but to also punish himself for giving so much of himself away, he knew how smart Sweets was and the clues he just gave him through that display would only intensify the Doc's curiosity.

When he reached the top of the stairs Booth replaced the identity card into his jacket pocket and looked up to see Bones and Camille in what had become a regular situation for both of them, Bones was working on a skull, her gloved hands although delicate and respectful were unceremoniously exploring every inch of the former face she now held, her eyes focused and deliberate in their searching for inconsistencies and clues that would lead her to the original identity of this long lost, but not forgotten soul.

Camille stood at the opposite side of the examining table with her back too Booth, her folded arms and cocked leg informing him that as ever the two strong and independent women had once again found themselves in a difference of opinion on a subject he was sure would be of little consequence to him.

"I'm sorry Dr. Brennan, but it does make a difference, sending your intern in place of yourself is not the same, they requested your presence, and as the head of this department i gave them my assurance that you would attend, not only is it not what we agreed, it shows a total lack of respect both to me and to the people who were expecting you, and instead you send someone who is barely older than they are."

"I don't see what age has to do with it, Ms. Wick is more than qualified to explain the complexities of using forensic anthropology as an investigative tool to identify remains of people possibly victims of murder and then in concert with the F.B.I. discover the identity of the murderer as well, and although she has a severe lack of knowledge on the latter part of the process i'm sure her relationship with Dr. Sweets should give her some insight into the F.B.I.'s investigative techniques." Bones never took her gaze from the skull she held thus not seeing the look in Dr. Saroyan's eyes which were clearly indicating that Bones has completely missed the point, again.

As Booth came to stand at the foot of the examining table he could see the fustration mounting in Camille's face not that her rather loud and exaserbated sigh wasn't indication enough to everyone in the building, except Bones. As always Booth tried to disapate the tension with a cheeky grin and a rather woefull joke, even by his standards.

"Whats up Flesh and Bones?"

**Angela's lab.**

Sweets entered Angela's lab with a cautious look on his face, even though he knew her for a few years now she still unnerved him greatly, almost every person he meets has an agenda or a part of themselves they wish to hide, but not Angela, she was open and accessible, but it was the uncanny ability to engender trust in every one she knew including him, that intimidated him the most, she was trusting, compassionate and loyal to a fault and knowing how flawed people are, the fear of not being worthy of that loyalty always brought the image of her crying after the incident with Zach to his mind, and the thought of being the cause of that kind of pain to someone like Angela caused him to keep his distance so as not to get so close that he came under the umbrella of _"family"._

"Morning honey, and how's my baby Doctor doing today?" Suddenly the distance idea went out the window, it only took a flash of her eyes and one sentence to forget his reasons for not wanting to be near someone so comforting.

It took him a moment but he finally remembered why he was there, he removed his hands from his pockets and strolled to the chair opposite the desk she was sitting at, as he sat he noticed the drawing pad in her hand was blank except for a few pencil marks in the corner, no doubt caused by repeated tapping from a frustrated mind trying to find inspiration.

"I'm here with Booth, were trying to convince Dr. Brennan to go to Washington State again to help on a case, well Booth is, i thought we'd have better look if i wasn't around." Sweets squirmed in his chair trying to come up with a way to talk about Booth's distracted mood but in every scenario hey knew she would realize that he was interfearing in something that Booth told him to keep out of, so he just asked outright. "I've noticed that Booth is kind of distracted lately, do you know if anything happened to him recently, maybe with a member of his family?"

Angela smiled widely an all knowing look now crossing her face, she placed the pad and pencil down and leaned back in her chair. "Oh, so you didn't leave Booth alone with Brennan just cause you didn't want to get the blame for dragging her across the country, you wanted to come here and see if i would dish on Booth behind his back." Angela raised an eyebrow in mock disapproval of his sneakiness.

Sweets smiled his _okay you caught me _smile and went on. "I just have a concern that he's not himself at the moment and was hoping that i could help if i found out the reason for his sudden withdrawn demeanour."

"Oh please don't you know anything, its his birthday soon, he gets like this every year." Angela's answer was casual and indicated that the fact was well known to everybody, and nothing to be concerned about. Sweets however still had a lot of questions in his eyes and noticing them Angela motioned with her hands for him to continue.

"I'm sorry but i don't see Booth as the type to concern himself with getting older, in fact it seems to me that he rather enjoys his birthday."

"Exactly, it happens every year like clockwork, a few days before his birthday he goes all quiet and looks like he's going to smash the room apart, then we go out for his birthday he has a great time, then its all good until next year." She finished with a slump of her shoulders, not at all impressed that Sweets didn't already know this.

A contemplative look from Sweets was the only retort Angela got, not at all agreeing with the simple explanation to his friends mood, Angela widened her eyes and raised her eyebrows in anticapation of the next set of questions that never came.

"Mmm, well maybe i'm just seeing something that isn't there, thanks Angela" Surprised by him suddenly giving up Angela stood and walked to his side of the desk and gave him a quick hug.

"Your a good psychologist Sweets but sometimes a bad mood, is cause you've stubbed your toe."

"I'll try to keep that in mind." As he stood Sweets lowered his eyelids and put on his therapy face so as not to inform Angela of his intention to pursue it any further, they both headed for the door on there way back to the lab.

"So what case are you working on?"

**Main lab.**

Now leaning on the edge of the table his grin turned into an all toothy smile, Booth's head turned from side to side between the two women, one of them now wearing a look of confusion and the other, one of disgust.

Camille closed her eyes and started to wave her hand in disbelief. "Did you just call me _Flesh_?"

"Booth that was totally inappropriate" Bones held the look of confusion as she expressed her disapproval of the name he had chosen to address Dr. Saroyan with.

"Thank you Dr. Brennan, completely inapropriate and if i may say so, gross," Camille's eyes shifted from side and closed as she re-heard the name in her mind. "It sounds like a sleazy porn film!"

"Actually i meant that due to the lack of medical procedures that you preform of late it doesn't seem right that your pseudonym should imply that you help with the cases in the guise of a Medical Practitioner, how about Administrator and Bones, that's accurate?"

Camille and Booth just looked at Bones both wondering if she had realized how insulting her words were to Dr. Saroyan, she didn't, and now with a look of accomplishment she had on her face over finding an _"accurate"_ nickname for Dr. Saroyan, they thought it too late to bring it up now.

Booth could see Camille getting more and more frustrated and decided to jump into the deep end and find out the source of contention between them.

"Anyway, whats up with the two of you?" In his haste to get to the reason why he was there he forgot to add a tone of concern to his question and had fake a cough and add to his rather blunt inquiry "cause... friends shouldn't argue...it...it leads to...blame?" he ended in a question in the vain hope that they would understand where he was going with that sentence, even if he didn't.

Camille just ignored the blundering idiot that Seeley had just turned into and told him what was going on.

"I asked Dr. Brennan if she wouldn't mind giving a lecture to some students of an old colleague of mine who is now an anthropology Professor at Pacific University on what it was like working with the F.B.I. in solving crimes using Forensic Anthropology, she agreed but sent Daisy instead."

"Actually you asked if i could help with your professors request for a speaker on the subject of Forensic Anthropology and working with the F.B.I., and i could help, i could send Daisy." Bones, not understanding Dr. Saroyan's annoyance finished with a small smile.

Camille thrust her hands out in front of her in a pleading motion, "I meant you Dr. Brennan, i wanted you to give the lecture."

Bones thought for a second then began shaking her head, "But that's not what you asked, you...

Booth cut her off, realizing that this conversation would just go around in circles until Camille just gave up, he pointed to both women with the index finger of each hand, a very large smile taking over his face.

"Is this Pacific University, Portland by any chance?" Both women nodded, unaware of the significance.

"Ladies i think i may have the answer to all your problems"


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Bones.**

**Chapter three.**

Bones removed her gloves and descended the stairs on her way to her office, her stride and expression showing her dislike of once again being told what to do by Booth and Dr Saroyan. The trailing Booth still insincerely apologising for forcing her into going.

"C'mon Bones, hey I'm sorry but its simple math, two bodies there, one set of bones here, two jobs there, one job here, and look I'll even drive you to Portland U. myself how's that?" Booth spread his arms and gave Bones his most charming smile as they entered her office.

Bones turned to Booth to relay her reasons for being irked by his request but averted her gaze upon seeing the very charming smile he always used to get her to relent.

"I agree that the merits of the case and the lecture at the university does warrant my presence, but that doesn't mean that you and Dr, Saroyan should have unilateral control over everything I do Booth, its not fair." She crossed her arms and shook her head slightly to emphasize her distaste of the current status of their arrangement.

"C'mon Bones, we'll get to stay in, well you'll stay in a nice hotel, enjoy the fresh air and get to tell a bunch of junior squints what its like to work with your old pal Booth." He smiled again adding a wink in an attempt to get her to come around, but Bones was resolute in her decision not to let the injustice of what had been done to her again go, not without remarking on the lack of control she had over her own fate.

As Angela and Sweets entered Bones's office they could already sense the tension in the room, Dr. Brennan had her arms crossed, that, added to the almost childlike pout she wore on her face gave clear signs to everyone of her mood. Booth however appeared to be his usual playful self, his arms open wide and flashing his cheeky grin but the new arrivals both noted the absence of a glint in his eyes which usually accompanied that particular expression.

"No Booth i'm sorry but i find it totally unacceptable that i have to do everything that you tell me to do without any say on the matter."

"Without any say on the matter?" His smile disappeared. "When have you ever done anything without complaining huh?" The tone and volume of his question shocked all who heard it, his expression and demeanor became almost threatening as he gestured with his finger at the now shocked and muted Bones. "Look I say your going and Cam says your going and thats the end of it. Got it?" Booth turned to Angela and Sweets, and with a look, he showed his readiness to shoot an undeserved attack in their direction as well if they attempted to butt in.

Booth sighed loudly and returned his hard gaze to Bones "Just meet me at the airport okay Bones, and remember to pack some compassion, if you have any." As he exited Sweets and Angela shifted to one side away from the door, both dipping their heads in a bid to avoid Booths intimidating glare.

Bones stood frozen in awe at the verbal attack she just received from the man she trusted more than anyone, her bottom lip quivered due more to her hurt feelings than the anger that now started to bubble up inside her but she made the conscious choice to display the latter to Sweets and Angela who approached her now with pitying eyes. Angela gave her comfort in the way she usually did, with touch, she laid a reassuring hand on Brennan's back and tried to pull her into a hug.

"I'm so sorry sweetie, that was so unfair" The tilt of her head and the look in her eyes caused Brennan to pull away and refuse the pity.

"Yes it was, totally unfair, I'm full of compassion, I give a lot to charity, I catch murderers and stop them from hurting anyone else why would I do that if I didn't have any compassion, just because I don't see the need in traveling to Washington State to express that compassion, doesn't mean I'm devoid of it." With her head shaking and her face like stone, she made a vain attempt to hide her anguish over Booths callous words, but to no avail when faced with her best friend and the trained eye of Dr. Sweets.

Angela continued with her soothing tone "I know honey, I don't think that was about you," Angela turned to Sweets. "and it wasn't the birthday blues either, sorry babe." She directed that apology to Sweets now knowing that he had been correct in his assumption that there was something seriously bothering Booth, she had seen him arguing with Brennan before, but he never spoke to her with such venom.

"Of course it was about me, he was talking to me" Brennan's rebuttal was controlled and accurate as she regained her composure. "you both saw." She pointed to Angela and Sweets to make sure they new who that she was talking about them.

"What Angela means is that although Booth was speaking to you, his anger and frustration came from something else, something that I think, has to do with a member of his family, has he said anything to you about them?" Sweets still stood near the door, letting Angela give Dr. Brennan the comfort she needed but would never ask for, calming her so she wouldn't dismiss his theories out of hand as she usually did.

"No, but i don't see why anything about Booths family would cause him to act so inappropriately towards me just because i refused to go to Tacoma."

Angela's eyes flickered, she bit her bottom lip in as she took in what Brennan just said.

"You said that wouldn't go to Tacoma?"

"Yes, I have work here that I have already started, to leave now, in the middle of my examination of the remains I'm currently working on would be erroneous." Brennan ended her sentence with a light shrug of her shoulders.

Angela closed her eyes and shook her head. "Oh honey, you didn't say that to Booth did you?"

Brennan turned her eyes to from Angela to Sweets and back again. "To him and Dr. Saroyan yes, why?"

"Oh sweetie," Angela paused and replaced her hand on her friends back. "Those bones have been in Limbo for years, this girl, she's in pain now and needs your help to get over what she's been through."

"I didn't argue the validity of her need for help, i just didn't see why i should have my movements dictated to me by other people."

"I know honey, but this was the wrong case to make a stand on, you have to go, I know what Booth said was harsh, but you do have to go, even if he's acting more Bruce Bannerish than normal."

"I don't know what that means."

"I know you don't, but don't worry about it, I bet he'll not only apologise when you get to Tacoma, he'll even do it with a gift."

/

"I don't understand" Bones held the pale blue shirt out in front of her, with a very confused expression on her face.

"Whats not to get bones," Booth took his right hand off the steering wheel of the rental car he picked up at the airport, and rubbed his fingers over the smooth material. "C'mon? Bones! Bones! I'm a Doctor man! not a construction worker." Booth rocked from side to side, almost giddy from the anticipation of when Bones got the relevance of his gift.

"Thats right, I am a Doctor, not a construction worker." Her vacant expression or lack of comprehension never detracted from Sweet's joviality in the back seat.

"Is that from the original series?"

"Yes Sweets, i can afford to buy a shirt seen on the original series, but i choose to stay at the same hotel as you cause I'm what? too happy? and needed someone close by to drag me down?"

Sweets turned his head to the right and continued his vacant stare at the window, Booth still hadn't forgiven him for pushing too far back in D.C. and wasn't likely too anytime soon.

Bones looked back at the despondent Sweets, although she didn't agree with him she decided to test his hypothesis. "You know, Sweets thinks that your unwarranted verbal attacks on those closest to you, are related to a personal problem you're having with a member of your family, is there any validity to his claim?"

"As you always say Bones, he's just guessing." He glanced at the rear view mirror, Sweets was still looking at the window not through it, Booth's glare lingered on Sweets for a few seconds, trying to decide if the constant biting remarks he made at him were making him think twice about rifling through Booth's personal business or if he was just biding his time until something slipped out that Sweets could pounce on and get closer to the truth.

"Turn right here" As he said the words Sweets could almost see the hairs on the back of Booths neck rise up, the twenty foot black and silver gates now in front of the four by four they drove were indication enough to Booth that he was going to be more wary of these people, something about the rich always caused him to be more cautious than usual, that somehow they had a different set of ethics or had less morals than everyone else.

As they pulled up to the gates Booth opened his window and pressed the talk button on the talk box, "Hi, this is Agent Booth, Dr, Brennan and Dr. Sweets, i believe your expecting us." No reply came the gates just opened and they continued up the long winding driveway. "I thought you said that this guy had a little weight to throw around Sweets, this driveway is longer than route sixty six, i 'd call that more than a little weight."

As the house came into view, both Bones and Booth realised that he had understated the families wealth, the building looked more like a castle than a home and reminded Bones of the French chateaus she has stayed in on her numerous visits to Europe.

They pulled up to the front door and exited the car, as they made their way up the small set of red steps Sweets took the lead and approached the dark mahogany door only for it to open slightly before he reached it.

The pale nervous face of a girl appeared in the small gap between the door and its frame seemingly crouching below a safety chain that connected the two, her short black hair had no style to it, laying flat in some places and sticking up in others in response to endless twirling between agitated fingers, her breathing was shaky, as were her eyes, darting from the faces at the door to the ground and back again so fast Booth wondered if she could actually take in any information from the rapid glances.

"Hi Natalie, I gotta say I'm surprised to see you opening the front door?" Sweet's tone was soft as if talking to a frightened animal. "I'm glad though." He nodded and gave her a gentle smile.

"Knew it was you." Her words were said quietly and without looking at him, instead she was quickly scanning his two companions until her eyes caught the bright red belt buckle of the other male, she studied it for a moment then continued her rapid glances.

"This is Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan, the friends i told you about, there here to help."

"I know, I heard the intercom," Natalie took her right hand from the door and moved it to her mouth. "He doesn't _dress_ like a superhero?"

"Trust me he is, they both are."

"Well.." Booth glanced down at his clothes and looked back to Natalie. "I'm kinda in Clark Kent mode right now." He flashed her a grin trying to put her at ease.

Bones looked at Booth then at Natalie, although confused by their words she still felt the need to defend Booth.

"He's very brave, as am I, we have caught many murderers together, even at great risk to ourselves." Bones ended with a nod to indicate that what she said was fact and not just conjecture.

"May we come in Natalie?" Sweets asked with genuine concern, feeling she was more nervous than usual and not just due to the two visitors accompanying him.

Natalie nodded quickly and closed the door to undo the chain. She pulled the door open but remained behind it, as they came inside she closed the door behind them and re-secured the chain.

Booth slowly turned taking in his opulent surroundings noticing that Bones wasn't that impressed he reined in his awed expression which completely changed to restrained shock as Natalie came back into view. He new now that she wasn't ducking down under the chain on the door, she couldn't have been more than four and a half foot tall and probably weighed less than a happy meal, his emotions went from shock to empathy to anger in seconds almost unable to comprehend how someone could hurt something so small and fragile.

Bones too felt a twinge in her chest when confronted with the full view of the young girl. Natalie leaned on the door, her blue jeans and plaid shirt were too big for her small frame, she had now moved her hand from her mouth to the side of her head and began to twirl and pull at her short hair while the other one was held across her body, gripping the tails of her shirt.

"Are you okay Natalie?" Sweets didn't smile but still held his look of concern. "You know you can tell me anything right?"

"Ever since you left," She made a few passing glances over his face but still didn't look him in the eye. "Its been like...like it was before, when it first happened."

Booth felt a lump in his throat when he heard her voice, soft and filled with fear. Sweets didn't seem to have a lump, as his voice gave no evidence of cracking.

"The questions?" Natalie just nodded. "Don't worry you wont have to talk about it if you don't want to, he only does it because he cares Natalie okay?, but I'll make sure that he stops if it distresses you."

"He's through here." Natalie didn't gesture she walked around them giving them all a wide berth and walked towards another room.

"Sweets," Bones whispered tugging on the sleve of his jacket. "How old is Natalie?" The look of shock still in her eyes.

"She turned twenty a little while ago."

"But that means..." Bones silenced as she felt anger stifling her words, Booth voiced the thought that was going through her mind.

"She was little over seventeen when she was taken Bones."

/

**Sorry for the wait.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Bones.**

**Chapter four.**

Booth and Bones followed Sweets as he trailed behind Natalie at a discrete distance, not wanting to distress her any further. As she led them through the house Booth noted the very large living room at the front of the house, it was almost all window with a clear view of everything from the car that they arrived in to the tree line that surrounded the property, the only thing he couldn't see was the the gate at the end of the driveway, hidden from view by a hill half way along the impossibly long road.

Natalie reached a door on the opposite side of the room and gently tapped it twice so softly that it made hardly any noise at all and surely not enough for the person on the other side to hear it, still she lifted her hand, covered by the sleeve of the large plaid shirt she wore, and pulled down on the door handle and pushed through into the next room. Booth followed everyone else into the room and closed the door behind him, the room was in stark contrast to the one he had previously seen, it was much smaller and dimmer due to a total lack of windows, the walls were lined with books set on mahogany shelves that matched the wooden table at the top of the room, it reminded Booth of the public library even down to the small green lamp on the desk that only lit the area just below it.

Behind the desk sat Natalie's father, the man looked to be in his fifties although his graying hair and full beard made him appear older. He was talking on the phone, a little gesture with his finger intimated that his call was coming to an end.

"Yeah, they just walked in...thanks Ted I'll see you when you get here, bye." He hung up the phone and stood up to greet the visitors that had just entered, but a sudden flash of realization spread over his features and he turned to Natalie who was at the back of the room gingerly fingering the books on the shelf next to her, the twirling and tugging on her hair had increased as he looked at her, a fact that had not gone unnoticed by Sweets, or Booth. He ignored the people in front of him and slowly walked towards his daughter.

"Did... did you let them in honey?" His voice was gentle and quiet, almost cracking as he spoke.

Natalie nodded, not taking her eyes away from the books next to her. "I knew it was Dr. Sweets." A small smile grew on her fathers face and on Sweets as well.

"And his friends" His observation was spoken with a hint of pride and approval. Natalie simply nodded again. "I'm glad honey, I like Dr. Sweets too, I'm so proud that...that you were brave enough to open the door for him, and his friends," His pitch got higher as obvious excitement started to creep into his voice. "I...I washed and waxed the Bentley last week, we could take it for a spin around the grounds later? You know, like we used to, remember?"

Natalie's hands began to shake, she started to panic, her eyes darting to her father then to Sweets and back to the books, she brought her hand from the bookcase to her mouth, gripping onto her bottom lip with her fingernails, the sight almost broke Booth in half, half of him wanted to grab hold of her as he would Parker, to try and take his fear away after a nightmare and the other wanted to drag her father away and yell at the older man for pushing her into her current state, but again it was Sweets who acted first, knowing Natalie's intense fear of leaving the house and her fathers tendency to push her too far and too fast, Sweets instantly understood both their reactions and how best to deal with them.

"Mr. Brigman?... Paul? I think it best that Natalie stay inside for the time being, maybe even remain in her room for the most part." His voice was quiet but firm. "Having a visit from us three is stressful enough as it is, I don't think we should add to it." Already Natalie seemed to be more at ease, the look in her eyes looked less frantic and the shaking of her hands had slowed, even Paul Brigman's demeanour had changed, no longer looking at his daughter with expectant eyes, and although his smile had wained it could still be seen.

"I guess your right," He admitted, eventually moving his gaze from Natalie to the other three. He walked towards Sweets and held out his hand. "Thank you Dr. Sweets, and you Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan, I can't thank you enough for coming all this way." He shook their hands. "I'm glad Dr. Sweets was able to convince you to come and see me..."

"We didn't come because of you Mr. Brigman." Booth interrupted. "Sweets told us of the case, about Natalie, and that's why we came."

"Of course, of course, I'm sorry, I...I didn't mean to imply that you came just because **I **asked."

"Actually, I was told I had to come, but I do agree that It was prudent of you to seek me out in regards to the particulars of this case, namely the two decomposing bodies in the shanty that Sweets mentioned."

"Shanty?" Booth inquired.

"Yes, from what Sweets described, "shanty" is the more apt description of the structure in which the remains were found."

"Shack, okay Bones, in America we call it a shack." Booth turned his head to share his look of frustration with Sweets, but noticed that Sweets had his eyes on Natalie.

Upon hearing Dr. Brennan mentioning the shack and the bodies, Sweets could see the effect it was having on Natalie, her shaking had returned, her face contorted as she cringed at Dr. Brennan's words.

"Natalie, maybe you should go up to your room. Were only going to bore you with names and dates, nothing that you need to deal with right now."

"I'm not a child." The words were barely audible as she spoke, still facing the bookcase.

"I know Natalie but..." Sweets started but was interrupted by Booth

"Trust me Natalie, I work with these two all the time, and they are really, really, boring," Bones motioned to say something but a look from Booth and Sweets stopped her before she started. Natalie didn't smile but Sweets could tell that she liked Booth's words. "They use words like "shanty" when they mean "shack", and they never know when to shut up."

"Hut" Again her voice was quiet but this time it was almost playful. "Or "hutch", or even "hovel" is acceptable"

"Oh, your one of them are ya?" Booth playfully squinted his eyes. "well maybe you could take Bones with you up to your room, play Dictionary or something?"

"There's no such game as "Dictionary" Booth, and even if..."

"Thesaurus." It was only for a second, but she definitely made eye contact with Booth as she corrected him and he couldn't help but smile broadly.

"Wow!, she beat you to the punch there Bones, I think she might even be smarter than you." Booth immediately shot a look to Bones hoping to God that she would know what he was doing, she didn't, but her reply was better than the one he was thinking of.

"Not very probable, but it is a possibility." At her truthful words Bones also received an easily missed flash of eye contact and she too couldn't help but smile, the girls lips only twitched but the attempt at a smile was there and everyone in the room relaxed a little, even Natalie.

"Dr. Sweets says that your as smart as Bruce Wayne."

"I don't know who that is, but it is more than likely, I am very Intelligent."

Sweets shook his head at the glance from Natalie, he wore a slight grin but on the inside he was feeling a little jealous, he didn't know how they did it, to gain trust, however little, from Natalie in such a short space of time. He had laid the groundwork of course, comparing them both to her favorite superheroes again and again, relaying tales of the acts of courage they had both preformed in their time together, now he just had to make sure that all three of them could live up to his promises.

Natalie headed towards the door, Bones waited until she stepped through before following, keeping a similar distance between them as Sweets had when they entered earlier.

Sweets didn't waste any time getting to the point as soon as the door closed. "Paul you shouldn't push her like that, I know you want her to be like herself again and I know how Important the Bentley thing is, to both of you, but..." Paul didn't look away from the door since both women left, and he still didn't when he Interrupted Sweets.

"She used to beg me... since she was fourteen she would beg me everyday to let her drive it around the grounds," Booth and Sweets looked at the floor, seeing the faraway look in his eyes and hearing the pain in his voice, neither man had the heart to stop him. "I'd always say no In the beginning, make her bring out the big guns... jumping into my lap, giving me the puppy dog eyes and running her fingers through my beard saying_ "Santa Clause can't say no!"... _ I'd trade everything I have to have her do that just one more time, or to sit terrified in the passenger seat of a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar car thinking, at any moment, she's going to kill us both." Paul grinned unashamedly. "If you want to berate me for wanting that again Dr. Sweets you can, but I will not listen, and I will not stop."

"I wont stop you Paul, but you have to know that sometimes, your pushing, causes her to regress back into herself." Sweets didn't look up as he spoke. "I'd very much like to see the Natalie that you have described to me so many times before, but Its not going to happen any time soon, the arrival of Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth will only help, if she can find some kind of closure from the facts that come to light in the next few days."

Paul Brigman returned to his seat behind the desk, taking in what Sweets had said and thinking of his daughter. He looked up at the two men in front of him and gave them a small apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, but with what's been happening lately my mind is all over the place, with an end in sight I just... I thought I could just run to the finish line and put all this behind us."

"Paul I know that things are happening now, but you have to realize that Natalie, no matter what we may find out, will never be the same girl you knew, hopefully she'll get close to a normal life, but It Is a long way off." Sweets's words sounded harsh, even to Booth, but the F.B.I. Agent knew from experience that he was right, even if everything gets resolved and those responsible for the torture she suffered, were caught and punished, It will be a very long time before she would regain who she was before it happened, if ever.

A loud buzzer sounded from an intercom on the wall behind Paul Brigman. "Hey Paul, Its Ted." Paul stood and pressed the gate release button. "Thanks."

Sweets Turned to Booth. "The Marshal." With the look Booth shot him Sweets could almost hear the words _"Well Duh!"_ Booth turned back to Paul, he didn't know why, but he was glaring at him, something about him bothered Booth, he had seen the care he had for Natalie and gratitude on his face when greeting both himself and Bones, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something he wasn't saying, he gave him a quick a jab when mentioning that the reason for taking this case was all about Natalie and had nothing to do with his money or his friends in the F.B.I., but all he got was apologies and understanding, if he was going to get to what Paul Brigman was hiding he was going to have to get more abrasive.

"So, I hear that you and the marshal are old friends, keeping you well informed is he?" Sweets didn't like the question but knew better than to interrupt Booth, especially when he was just seeking a reaction not a response and to Sweets's surprise Booth got exactly what he looking for, Paul breathed in deeply, his eye's flashed up and to the left.

"I don't know what you mean Agent Booth" Both Sweets and Booth could hear the underlying anger in his voice no matter how controlled he appeared to be.

"Well, I just want to make sure that you understand that i'm in charge of this case now, and I don't want your buddy running to you with every little bit of information first before he brings it to me, understand? I'm running the show now and I'm the one who's going to bring those responsible to justice."

"JUSTICE?" He screamed, anger and fury contorting his features. "I don't want justice, I want them DEAD! do you UNDERSTAND ME! Agent Booth" Paul slammed his fist on the desk. "Those bastards took MY DAUGHTER, MINE, and every last one of them will pay... " He couldn't say any more, his anger had taken his words, Paul slumped back into his seat, the release of anger had brought all his other emotions to the fore and he could no longer hold back the tears burning his eyes.

Getting what he wanted, seeing the all consuming hatred for those responsible for hurting his only child in Paul's reaction, Booth backed off, satisfied that he had found what the man was hiding. Looking at Paul and thinking of Natalie just brought Parker instantly to mind, he knew, down to his bones he knew, he would be exactly the same way if anyone hurt his child, he too would have sought vengeance and he would use all the resources he had to get it, his job, his friends, even his family, and nothing would stop him, which is why he knew now that after the Marshal had shown them where the shack is, he was going to have to take him off the case, a little harsh seeing as he still hadn't even met the man.

"I'm sorry Paul, but Agent Booth is right," Sweets moved around the desk and knelt by the side of Paul's chair. "If you or Ted interfere it might endanger the case or even Natalie," All three men looked up as they heard a knock at the front door. "That'll be Ted now, I'm going to go up and talk to Natalie before we go okay?."

"Okay," Paul spoke clearly and nodded his head regaining some of his composure. "If you don't mind Agent Booth i'd like to speak to him alone, i don't think that telling a man that he can no longer help his Goddaughter should come from a stranger." Paul looked at Booth with both understanding and contempt, he understood that he would take Ted off the case due to their friendship, but understanding didn't have to include forgiveness.

Booth nodded. "If its alright with you Mr. Brigman I'll join Sweets and go and see Natalie, i promise i wont upset her."Booth spoke with care and empathy, but his words were of no comfort to the elder man, he simply stood and ushered them towards the door.

"Don't worry Paul, i just want to make sure that she's not overwhelmed by all this, we wont be long." Sweets walked through the large room outside of the smaller one gesturing to Booth to follow him through a hidden side door and up a long set of stairs, while Paul continued to the front of the house to open the front door.

"Wow!" exclaimed Booth as they rounded the top of the stairs, but his amazement was not at the ornate banister or the multitude of rooms he had seen as he climbed the oak steps but at the drawings that adorned the door of Natalie's room, life size, hand drawn representations of Batman and Superman, both standing with arms crossed and intimidating expressions to ward off any person of ill intent.

"Her guardians" Sweets explained. " Notice the eyes?" Booth looked closer as he approached the door, and he instantly saw what Sweets was hinting at.

"Dark, filled with fear and sorrow." Booth stared intently at the images wondering how artists were able to put so much emotion into their drawings.

"She drew these after the first hypnosis session, and hasn't stopped since..." Sweets paused as he heard the sounds of sobbing coming from inside the room, he gently knocked on the door.

"Natalie? Is everything okay?"

The door opened and Bones stood in front them, a panicked look on her face and tears in her eyes. "I don't know what i did, we were talking and she just started crying and she wont stop, I...I'm sorry, I... I don't know what I did."

"Natalie," Sweets didn't even look at Bones as he walked around her, he sat on the edge of the large bed against the wall at the back of the room.

Booth couldn't help but look around the room, posters and hand drawn pictures of Batman and Superman covered every wall, even the window was almost blacked out with a menacing painting of Batman, as he reigned back his awe he saw a tiny lump curled up into a ball in the corner of the bed, facing the wall crying so hard that its whole form shook, a lump shot up into his throat so big that he had to gasp for air, as his gaze returned to Bones, he wanted to look at her with disappointment but seeing her face filled with so much regret and pain it only added to the empathy that was nearly choking him especially because he could see that she didn't even know what she had done wrong.

"C'mon Bones," Booth took the shaking Bones in his arms and led out of the room. "Let Sweets do his thing."

"I don't understand,"Bones turned in Booths arms towards Natalie. "I'm so sorry Natalie, I...I didn't... I... don't understand."

Booth led Bones into the hallway and closed the door to Natalie's room, he took three deep breaths trying to compose himself. "Bones i know you didn't mean to upset Natalie," Booth closed his eyes and shook his head as the image of her tiny shaking form came back to him. "But what exactly did you say to her?"

Bones pushed out of Booth's hug, not feeling deserving of his comfort. " I... I said that her drawings were interesting and that, Angela, my best friend, was an artist too but that she was much better at rendering facial features, and she said that... that faces were liars, only eyes tell the truth." Bones's gave Booth a panicked look asking with her eyes if her insult to her drawings was the cause of Natalie's current state.

"No Bones, what else?

"I... I saw a picture of her.. on her night stand in her tennis uniform, I said that...that her longer hair in the photo suited the construction of her face better and that combined with her small stature was probably the reason why she was taken by the abductors..." She stopped as she saw Booths face drop.

"You said that... you told her... that...that it was her her fault she was taken?" Booth could hardly get the words out, astonished at not only what Bones had said to Natalie but also at her lack of comprehension of how damaging they could be.

"No... no i...i was just saying that due to her...

"No Bones it doesn't matter what you meant, what she heard is that it was her fault, kids always think its their fault and you just said it to her face."

"She... she's not a ch..."

"Does that look like the door to an adults room Bones?" At his words Bones's bottom lip gave in and started to quiver uncontrollably, the threatening tears in her eyes finally fell and so did she, straight into Booths arms, trying to bury her sobs into his shoulder. Booth felt her whole body give, as the impact of what she had inadvertently done had hit her completely.

"I made her think it was all her fault."

**/**

**A/N**

Sorry for the delay.

I'd like to thank.

**restivesilence** for giving me my first review, knowing that someone is actually reading is not only appreciated but also very worrying.

**SquintytotheBone, **thanks for your encouragement, that is such an awesome screen name, if you don't mind I'd like to stick it in the story?


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own Bones.**

**Chapter five.**

Sweets sat uncomfortably on the edge of Natalie's bed, she was still in the position that she was in since Dr. Brennan had left, curled up tightly , her knees pulled into her chest, she was still sobbing lightly but her shaking had subsided but still, Sweets couldn't prevent the strong feelings of empathy over riding his brain, he lifted his right hand from his lap intending to place it on her back in an innocent offer of comfort but he paused, he recalled her fathers anguish when he revealed that he hasn't been able to lay a hand on his daughter in nearly two years, whenever he tried to hug her or even place his hand on her shoulder had resulted in agitated shaking and sometimes even uncontrollable tears, her intense reactions had brought Sweets back to his senses, he closed his hand up into a ball and brought it back to his lap, silently cursing himself for almost making the situation worse.

He closed his eyes and tried to think of how to begin, he knew that whatever Dr. Brennan had said to illicit this kind of reaction was unintentional, that Natalie had inferred the insult or accusation, he knew that Dr. Brennan was very blunt and even rude sometimes but never intentionally so, but this fact didn't help him, saying _"hey whatever Dr. Brennan said wasn't meant to be an insult, you just took it the wrong way" _wouldn't work, it didn't matter what was said, it was how Natalie took it that matters.

"So, what happened?... Natalie?... Please?" His voice was calm and soft, almost a whisper.

"She knows" The words were quiet, shaky and followed by a rapid intake of breath to continue her sobbing.

"Knows what?" Sweets moved to a small stool opposite the bed, giving Natalie, and himself space, if he was going to be of any help to her he would need to keep his distance, both physically and emotionally. "Natalie? What does Dr. Brennan know?"

"She knows I'm to blame, that it was my fault."

"She does? She said that?" Natalie only nodded in response, Sweets narrowed his eyes. "Really? Cause I didn't even know that, and I'd like to think I'm a little better at this than Dr. Brennan."

"She said that they took me because of how I looked and how I dressed."

"Oh! I see, and when did she say it was your fault?"

Natalie's crying stopped as she craned her head back, the questioning look on her face was just what Sweets was hoping for, she did blame herself but not completely, and that would be enough for Sweets to convince her otherwise, eventually.

"Because I know Dr. Brennan very well and I know for a fact that she has never implied anything, ever! If she wants to say something, she'll say it. She is right though, they took you because of how you looked, they took you because your a girl, because your pretty and probably because your petite, and how exactly is any of that your fault? As far as I know its not your fault your short or pretty, just like its not your fault that they picked you."

Natalie closed her eyes and turned to face Sweets, her knees still tight to her chest with both arms wrapped around them.

"My skirts were too short, my dad always said so."

"Fathers always say that, they have to"

"I flirted with all the boys at the club"

"You were a seventeen year old girl, your supposed to"

"I can see it in his eyes, he blames me." Natalie opened her eyes and stared directly into Sweet's, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks.

"No he doesn't, he blames himself, all your dad thinks about is you Natalie and how he cant take back what happened to you, how he cant make you feel better and how he cant punish those responsible, but blaming yourself is not going to help him or you. Yes your dad will feel better when he finds someone he can blame but that person is not you and will never be you, no matter how hard you try to convince yourself that it will be easier for him."

Sweets held her gaze, his boyish looks were gone, his young and playful demeanour had shifted till all Natalie could see was a man, a Doctor, telling his patient exactly what she needed to hear, the truth, and from someone as controlled and in charge as Sweets appeared to be, she relented. She looked away from Sweets as she brought her hands up to wipe away the tears, she unfurled her legs and sat on the edge of her bed.

"What if he's one of them?" Natalie stared at the floor and started twirling her fingers through her hair again.

"What if who's one of What?" Sweets didn't follow her until she looked up at one of the drawings on the wall, he realized that it was her attempt at changing the subject, not a good sign. He knows how intelligent she is and upon realizing that Sweets knew that she was actively trying to get her father to blame her in an attempt to make him feel better, she retreated, trying to divert his concentration back to the particulars of the case. He hated himself for allowing it to pass but he had too, at least until he could inform Brennan and Booth to continue onto the shack without him.

"If he's one of the bodies in the shack, don't tell me, please?" Natalie was lost in the eyes of her own drawing, Sweets was reluctant to let her to fall into the protective cocoon of her fictitious guardians right now but it would give him time to let his companions know that he would be staying with Natalie for the time being.

"Natalie..."

"Please? He stops them, the nightmares end when he comes, if he's gone, they'll never stop."

"Okay Natalie...for now,okay."

* * *

When Bones had composed herself Booth convinced her to go outside with him and wait by the car for Sweets and the Marshal, there was nothing more he could learn from Paul Brigman and as for Natalie, questioning her now would not only be pointless but actually a little cruel. As he exited the front door Booth noticed the Marshal leaning against his truck with his back to the house, he looked younger and shorter than Booth expected, the silly over-sized hat was not going to help Booth to take this guy seriously.

"Hey, you Ted? Ted the Marshal?"

"Nope, he's inside, I'm Greg the Deputy, and general dogsbody." He stuck out his hand and offered it to Booth and then Bones.

"Greg the dogsbody, I'm Booth the Agent and this is Bones the Forensic Anthropologist.

"That's not possible, although there have been reports of children having canine like features, such as freak-show dog-boys, you cannot have a dogs body."

Greg grinned as he shot Bones a very confused look, sporting a small dimple on his right cheek.

"I mean I'm a gopher ma'am"

"That's even less likely."

"A gopher Bones,he goes for coffee,he goes for lunch, you know, he goes for things!"

"Oh, like a dog, such as the Labrador Retriever, which are widely considered to be the best of all retrievers , due to their webbed feet and eagerness to please their masters."

"I ain't got webbed feet ma'am, but keeping the Boss happy is always a good Idea."

"I didn't say you had webbed feet, and stop calling me ma'am, its offensive." The Deputy looked at Booth in a bid for help but Booth just shrugged.

"Hey, its news to me too." Booth looked to Bones shaking his head.

"What? If he's going to address me it should be as Dr. Brennan or at the very least, Doctor."

"No worries Doc. I ain't one for rocking the boat anyhow."

"What boat? I thought we were going into the Park, no one said anything about getting on a boat.?

"Don't worry about it okay Bones, there's no boat, and you," Booth pointed to Greg. " Stop talking to her or we'll be here all day, I can barely follow what you're saying let alone her."

"Angry kinda fella ain't he?" Greg nodded to Booth as he looked at Bones giving her another one of his half smiles.

"Not usually, but he has been especially irritable of late, but we, Dr. Sweets and myself, have yet to learn of its cause."

"Yeah well, you definitely wont be finding out now will ya Bones, not after telling all and sundry my personal business."

"I don't know what that means but from the context of your statement I believe that you were suggesting that I'm informing everybody of your dour mood, which is simply not true, the Deputy insinuated that you are an angry person, I was just informing him that it is due to an external influence that we have yet to determine that's causing you to act that way, and not your usual persona."

"Yeah, thanks Bones, I think?" Booth looked slightly confused but the Deputy was completely lost.

"No, sorry Doc, but you're gonna have ta take me through that one more time."

"Not on your life" Booth spat, then turned and headed towards his car when the door of the house opened, Sweets exited followed by another Marshal, this one however was exactly as Booth expected Ted to look, he was older maybe even the same age as Paul Brigman but he had a stature similar to Booth and with a face like granite their expressions were equally as matched.

"You Booth?" Ted spat the words with such disdain that they immediately put Booth on the offensive.

"No, I'm Special Agent Seeley** Booth**, F.B.I. and you are?" Booth advanced on the Marshal, no more than an inch from him he pulled out his I.D. and waved it in front of Ted's face in an effort to force the older Officer to back down and submit to his authority over him and the case.

"Cute, but I bet you wouldn't be so cocky with my boot on your face" Not intimidated by Booth, Ted held his ground, staring the younger man down, willing Booth to provoke him, so as to have an excuse for the inevitable physical confrontation that he was hoping for.

Sweets, understanding both men very well, knew he had to act, they were very similar and he knew that neither man would back down, he understood Ted's reasons, taken off a case was bad enough but being denied the opportunity to help someone he loved is as unbearable to him as it would be to Booth. Booth's reasons however, were his own, Sweets had no doubt that if Booth was acting more like himself, even though the result would've been the same, he would have handled it a lot better.

"You do know that were all on the same side right." Sweets spoke with an authority and control that surprised Bones, there was no pandering or gentle prodding this time. "Your posturing is of no use to anyone least of all Natalie, Ted you know full well that your too close to this and Booth, well, as a father I thought you would have understood Ted's reaction and not make it worse than it has to be."

Both displaying begrudging scowls the two men separated, Ted held his stance and followed Booth with his eyes as the F.B.I. Agent headed towards his car and entered the drivers side door.

Sweets turned to Dr. Brennan when she moved to join Booth in the car. " I'm going to stay here, Natalie's in no condition to be left alone," Bones looked away, although she wouldn't admit it, Sweets knew that she felt shame for apparently being the cause of the young girls current state. "Not worry Dr. Brennan, although you were the catalyst for Natalie's sudden breakdown you were by no means the cause, in actuality you revealed something that if overlooked, might have been more damaging in the long run."

"Thank you Sweets, but that doesn't make things any better." Sweets smiled and shook his head knowing full well that she meant that it didn't _"make Her feel"_ any better.

"I know, that's what makes such a good person."

"I don't agree with that conclusion."

"I know, I'd better get back to her, and you need to go too, Natalie will need what you find out a lot more than i initially thought."

Bones gave Sweets a nod and headed to the passenger side door and got in next to the waiting Booth.

"Greg, take the tuck up to shack, they'll follow, I'm going to stay here with Paul, pick us up when your done."

"No worries Boss," Greg gave his superior a quick wink. " we'll talk later."

The Deputy got in his truck and drove off, closely followed by Bones and Booth as Sweets and Ted re-entered the house.

**/**

* * *

**A/N**

Sorry for the long delay, any explanation just sounds like an excuse so i won't bother.

RowdyRomantic: Thanks for the "Wow..." nothing beats a good exclamation like that.

almathea: I greatly appreciate the Brennanesque compliment, "Is there any higher praise than that?"

JessDB: Ha ha, i got a smiley face, up yours Shakespeare!

SquintytotheBone: Thank you again, "Fantastic chapter" your fast becoming my favorite person you know that, Santa Clause who? and don't worry its coming, i just gotta make sure it flows right, in two chapters at most i promise.


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Bones.**

**Chapter six.**

The two partners sat in relative silence as they followed the Deputy Marshal through the woodland of Wenatchee National Forest, both contemplating their own actions at the Brigman's home and the consequences those actions had caused, Bones unintentionally pushing Natalie to tears and Booth, acting so aggressive that he has alienated almost everyone working on the case, left the both of them preferring not to talk, except for a few choice facts from Bones on their surroundings, such as, that moss will grow on the side of the tree with less sunlight, how controlled forest fires can actually help the ecosystem and that the greatest supply of oxygen comes from marine algae and not trees. However interesting the facts were they were all still replied to with only a grunt of acknowledgement from Booth.

As they approached a small stream, Greg in the truck ahead of them not only drove straight into it, he turned right and proceeded up the stream, following its path. Booth slammed on the brakes and while repeatedly pressing on the horn stuck his head out the window to shout at the Deputy.

"Where the hell are you taking us?" Booth undid his seat belt and stepped out onto the grassy verge of the stream. Greg had stopped and waited for Booth to come along side his open window. "Where are you going? Your not a tour guide okay, you don't have to take us on the scenic route."

"Just following the white stone road big fella." Greg smirked as he leant his arm on the passenger seat headrest, and noticing Booths confusion, furnished him with an explanation. "For a few a weeks in the summer this stream dries up, leaving just a load of white stones behind, its how the boss found your shack, just so happens that when the girl was taken fell within those few weeks, and when your buddy did his mind meld thing'y, she just happened to mention a "White Stone Road", its the easiest way to get there and I didn't hear your field office buddies complaining this morning." Still smirking Greg raised his eyebrows asking if he should continue.

"Alright," Booth replied with a resigned sigh. "But It would've been nice to know this earlier, and stop saying JUST in every sentence, you sound like an Idiot." Booth turned and shut his eyes silently scolding himself for not being able to bite his tongue once again.

"Fair enough, but at least I JUST sound like one." Greg shot back, but with no response from Booth he put the truck back in gear and carried on. Booth heard the remark but decided that it was best not to acknowledge it. He jumped in next to Bones and followed the Deputy upstream.

"Goddamn yokels, I swear if I hear a banjo I'm gonna shot him," Without even looking at her Booth knew that Bones was about to say what was fast becoming her catchphrase, and cut her off with what was becoming his. "Don't worry about it okay Bones, it doesn't matter."

They resumed their awkward silence until the truck ahead had turned and drove out of the stream and stopped on the grassy bank next to four other vehicle's similar to Booth's rental,all of which had F.B.I. painted on the side.

"This must be it," Booth stated flatly as he exited the stream and parked next to the Deputy. "Your stuff's in the back Bones, I'll check on what the field team's been up too."

While Bones donned her usual garb of blue overall's and gloves Booth made sure that the bodies had remained untouched, the field team had been as professional as the one's that he had worked with in D.C., he stood and studied the area, the shack was a little larger than he had first thought but he could see why it had been so difficult to find, built into the side of a grassy hill covered with trees, a portion of the wood roof actually had grass growing from it, there were no windows, just walls made of wooden panels and old doors, the main one of which was still in place and heavier than the others, at least that idiot Marshal had the good sense to close it again to prevent any animals from destroying the evidence. The area outside was of course a mass of yellow tape and little red flags planted in the ground to mark any points of interest or possible evidence that could be of some significance but after three years Booth doubted that, no, all there was, was behind that door he just hoped that it was going to be enough to figure everything out.

"Okay I'm ready," Bones walked past Booth towards the shack with her black medical kit, she stepped over the tape and approached the door.

"Hang on Bones," Booth blinked his eyes rapidly as he came too. He turned to one of the other Agents. "You guys got everything you need out here?"

"Yes sir, all exterior photographic and sketch evidence has been collected were just waiting on Dr. Brennan to complete her exam then we can begin on the interior."

"Great, go ahead Bones, were all good out here."

Bones nodded and started to push on the door with her shoulder as Booth came up behind her, but it didn't budge.

"Need some help there Bones?" He said with a little smile at her struggle. He too had to use his shoulder to get the door open, he pushed it as far back as it would go in an effort to get as much light on the inside as possible, it was then that the smell hit him, no matter how many times he came across scenes like this that was always the part he couldn't get used too. Booth turned and looked around the inside of the shack.  
Laying next to the wall to the left of the doorway was an old mattress, it was torn in places and covered in stains, the source of which he didn't want to think about, in front of it sat a wooden chair with arm rests, hanging from them were thick brown leather straps both of which were undone. Booth brought the back of his right hand to his mouth and closed his eyes in an effort to purge images of Natalie from his mind.  
He opened them again as Bones brushed past him, she went straight to the two bodies that had almost escaped his notice, the first one was to his right on the floor, face up, or what was left of it, most of its flesh was gone, the other was about three feet further back, closer to the back wall of the shack, where Booth noticed another door, his thoughts of what went on in this shack were starting to take him over, luckily he was broken free from them as Bones began her examination of the remains.

"This one is a Caucasian male approximately thirty to forty years old, current state of decomposition points to death occurring three years ago but we will need Dr. Hodgins for a more accurate time span, as for cause of death I don't wish to speculate but there is severe trauma to the cervical spine, most notably between the C Three and C Seven vertebrae."

"What kind of trauma Bones? Broken neck?"

"No, the damage I'm seeing points to a crushing action as if placed in a vice, it is unlikely that that kind of injury could be inflicted without the use of some sort of weapon."

"But your not sure?"

"Not without closer examination." Bones moves to the other body but pauses as she stands over it.

"What is it Bones?"

"His Femur its... he has a Femoral Shaft Fracture, the only times I have seen this is as a result of high speed vehicle collisions or falls from a great height, the Femur is the strongest bone in the body Booth, it would take a tremendous amount of force to cause this kind of injury." Bones kneels down next to the remains, she runs her gloved hands over the fractured bone, then shifts to inspect the skull, "Also a Caucasian male and approximately the same age, he has further damage to his Zygomatic Arch, Mandible and Mastoid Process all signs showing evidence of massive blunt force trauma," She turns the skull over and checks the opposite side, she shakes her head. "The opposite side shows signs of even greater trauma, that are congruent with the damage to the wooden flooring just below them."

"Okay, and that means?"

"Something of great weight or force struck on this side of the head while it lay in this position, from the damage to the wood underneath it, it appears that the impact from above and the resilience of the wood beneath him had caused a crushing effect on his Esophagus and windpipe that would have resulted in death."

"So good right? we have cause of death."

"No not good, both injuries happened just prior to death, that means that the injury to the Femur occurred here, and there are no signs of Osteoporosis or any other bone disorders."

"So? What does that have to with anything?"

"Only with those kind of pre-existing conditions can you explain a fracture of that severity to the Femur Booth, I think your underestimating the force it requires to cause that kind of damage."

"Okay okay." Booth held his hands up and backed away towards the other door, it was stiff but not as difficult to open as the first, inside was a much smaller room, it had a small window that was covered with white plastic sheeting allowing just enough light in for Booth to see that all it contained was a small wooden table covered with old clothes with a drawer underneath, he removed a blue latex glove from his jacket pocket, he used it to open the drawer without actually putting it on, Booth gritted his teeth as he opened it and saw the hypodermic needle and three rolled up balls of aluminium foil, he knew what they contained and it caused him to shift his gaze away to the ground where something caught his eye.

"Hey Bones you missing any parts out there?"

"No why?"

"Well then I think I've found you a third victim to play around with."

"I do not play around with the victims Booth, I examine them." as she entered the small room Booth pointed to the corner, Bones hunkered down and studied the bones without touching them. "They appear to be a Distal and Middle Phalanx of an index finger but they are uncommonly large."

"How uncommon Bones? Uncommon enough to find its owner?"

"I would think so, barring any deformity, the hand that these bones came from would be quite large and in turn the owner of the hand would be also very large."

"What, are we talking giants here Bones, or what."

"Well it is possibly a person who suffers from gigantism, but certainly somebody much larger and taller in stature than the norm, approximately between two hundred, and two hundred and twenty centimeters."

"And whats that in american Bones?"

"Between six foot eight and seven foot two inches tall, this added with the missing phalanges should make identifying this individual a relatively simple matter, if of course he sought medical attention for the injury."

"So, you sayin' that the B.F.G. came in here and murdered these fine, upstanding, rapists huh?, well I ain't too upset by that, you?" Bones stood, and along with Booth cast her eyes to the main door to find Greg the Deputy standing in its entrance. " I gotta say Special Agent Seely Booth, F.B.I., I can see why you got the Doc here, she's all kinds of impressive."

"There is no evidence to indicate that these men were killed by a character in a book or that they were involved in the attack on Miss Brigman, to say so is mere conjecture."

"Maybe, 'cept the fact that neither one of yer guys here has any clothes on." Greg smiled as he nodded at the two bodies on the floor. "Besides ain't that pretty much what the girl said happened."

Booth, after reigning in his surprise that Bones knew who the B.F.G. was, considered Greg's theory of what happened, he didn't fail to notice the lack of clothing on the remains, only failed to mention it, the story did have a logic to it, well maybe not to Bones but to a cop it made a lot of sense, but still, there was not enough here to get the full picture. From his standing position he looked around the main room and the smaller one, then to the finger bones on the floor, if Bones was right there was a good chance that they could find the one person who could give an account of what happened here and to himself, he swore he would.

* * *

**A/N.**

To all of you who have been kind enough to read and especially to those who review this story, I must again repeat what has now become my catchphrase.

**"I'm sorry for the delay"**

I hate slow up-daters myself and if you feel that becoming what I hate is not punishment enough, then I invite you all to call me on my failing, for which I shall send a personal apology.

Sincerely J.


End file.
